"…that they should seek God…" Acts 17:26-27

Updates

**I haven’t updated this page in a while, but I like to be able to look back and see what God was doing, so I decided to leave this page where it is.

April 2014

New life is blooming all around us as spring is starting to appear with warmer weather, budding flowers, and inchworm infestations. (They’re really bad here!) We also anticipate new spiritual growth, as many people are hearing more and more about Jesus and His love for them!

Before we go any further, do you see that logo at the top of the page?! We are excited to show you our new logo for the ministry site here in Countryside, The Connection. The focus verses for the ministry comes from Acts 17:26-27:

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.

Our goal here is to Connect Countryside to Christ and to Connect with our neighbors in order to help them feel their way toward God. He has appointed their boundaries and their lives to be lived right here in this trailer park at this specific time and we would love to be the vehicle used to help them find Him, because He is not out of reach.

At the end of March, Amber went on a mission trip to Jefferson City, Tennessee to help with a women’s retreat at a new church plant. The next weekend she spent time at the WMU NC Missions Extravaganza Conference leading four teaching sessions on Mobile Home Park Ministry. Both were a blessing to be part of and were an encouragement to her personally.

Grant has had many opportunities to speak at different churches and groups about the ministry here. With the warmer weather, he has also opened up his “bike shop” again as many kids’ bikes are in need for a tune up after the winter months and Grant seems to be the one they come to for help. It amazes us daily how God gives us unique opportunities to share His love!

Our April event, an Easter Egg Hunt, was held on April 12th. We had a praise band from El Siloe and one from Covenant & New Hope Baptist. Grant delivered an Easter message, we ate hot dogs, and then headed down to the middle of the trailer park to find eggs. They were scooped up quickly and everyone left happy.

We celebrated Easter at our house with a planned meal for four turning into an unplanned meal for fourteen. God multiplied the food in a way that only He can. What a good God we serve!

This weekend Covenant Baptist will have Operation Inasmuch here in Countryside. We are excited to be blessed by them in this way. They will be cleaning the neighborhood, providing house numbers, landscaping, building picnic tables, prayer walking, leading Bible studies, and having a block party. Whew! It’s going to be a long, but fulfilling day! We are praying that God’s love will be displayed so obviously Saturday!

After Saturday we will start gearing up for our Summer Day Camps, Thumbs-Up Thursdays. Will you pray with us about this outreach opportunity where children will learn about the Bible every week?

January 2014

As the new year has arrived, we hope you have found it to bring new beginnings with God. We took the time to reflect on our months here in Countryside and to look forward to where God is leading in 2014.
The words that were played over and over in our conversation, hearts, and minds as we reflected were discipleship and relationship. As a result of that we look forward to some new outreach activities that will start in the
coming weeks.
First, we are excited to provide the opportunity for ESL (English as a Second Language) classes starting TODAY at The Connection (ministry trailer). This class will be offered Tuesdays 6:30-8:30pm and Thursdays 12-2pm. This is another opportunity to share the Love of God with our neighbors!
Last week we were contacted by The Literacy Council of Lancaster County. We met with them and they have offered to provide assessments, testing, and data collecting for the ESL classes. They also will use The Connection as a
satellite campus for GED classes, job training, resume and application classes!! Amen! God continues to amaze us with the resources that are simply falling in our laps! He loves these people and wants them to succeed–it is so obvious! We can’t wait to see what opportunities become available for our neighbors through these classes. And in the midst of all the classes, Jesus will be shared!
Amber will begin a Teen Girls Bible Study on Tuesdays after Homework Helpers. This will be a simple study on the Life of Jesus. Please pray for these girls as they have so many negative influences in their lives. Our prayer is that they would see how much Jesus loves them and they would live their lives for Him!
Grant will begin a Men’s Bible Study on Mondays at noon. This will gather in the group he plays basketball with on Friday nights along with our neighbors. Many times he has been called on to pray with these men and counsel them. This will be an excellent opportunity to explain who Jesus is and how He can transform their lives.
Looking more into the relationship aspect of our vision, we plan to invite a family to our home each Thursday night to fellowship around the dinner table. This will allow us to get to know our neighbors on a deeper level and
share even more with them. We are excited about opening our home to even more folks!
Instead of having a large event, we decided to take the month of January to plan the year and make connections. Grant has had many meetings with Non-Profit groups and churches in the area and will speak at a gathering of
Non-Profits today. These connections have proven valuable already as we are able to refer our neighbors to the different resources in the area. We also had an Appreciation Dinner for the leaders of our partnering churches in the
area and were able to share our vision for 2014 with them. This was fun because the food was provided by our Hispanic neighbors–a spread of tamales, rice, and gorditas!
And finally in blog world–Every Tuesday in 2014 you can find “Testimony Tuesday” over at our website: callingallhinsons.wordpress.com. This is an opportunity to hear testimonies of how God is working in YOUR lives. Many have committed to sharing on a Tuesday with the focus being to show how God works in all of our lives. We still share frequently on the site as well, this will just be an added feature. The website is used to provide more
detailed stories of how God is working on a daily basis in the lives of the people of Countryside.Will you join us in praying for the following?
*Maria’s family
*February event: A Month of Love
*Ongoing events: Homework Helpers on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Hispanic
Church, Love-a-Child Program, Bus ministry, Sunday School at The Connection
*Protection for our family
*Our Spanish learning
*Our house in Rockwell to sell
*Our ventures to start a Non-ProfitYou are such a valuable part in the efforts to change lives in Countryside. We appreciate your prayers and support for what God is doing here. Let us know how you are doing and how we can pray for you!

December 2013

Our November event, Thanksgiving at Brooklyn Springs Elementary, was a blessed night. Wednesday, November 27th, people from all over Lancaster came together to serve the Countryside Mobile Home Community. All together we fed around 400 people. They heard the Gospel presented in song and through the preached message. We saw prayers raised with many who requested it during the invitation. We saw tears stream down cheeks as God worked His wondrous ways in hearts. Thank you for the prayers and donations!

(Check out the blog for more pictures: callingallhinsons.wordpress.com)

Two days later we had a week of rest when we went on vacation with Amber’s family. It was a great time to spend with them since we don’t see them as often as we used to. It was also a time to get away and refresh ourselves. We came back ready to get to work!

This Saturday, December 21st from 3-5pm we will have Christmas at Countryside. There will be a Live Nativity at The Connection along with hot cocoa and cookies. Groups from four different churches will be caroling through the neighborhood during the event and free family pictures will be offered in the ministry trailer. The purpose of the event is to draw attention to the real meaning of Christmas—Immanuel—God With Us!

Will you join us in praying for the following?
*Christmas at Countryside this Saturday
*Unspoken needs for our family
*Ongoing events: Homework Helpers on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Hispanic Bible Study, Love-a-Child Program, Bus ministry, Sunday School at The Connection
*Our neighbor Itzel, a 9th grader
*Protection for our family
*Our house in Rockwell to sell
*Our ventures to start a Non-Profit

Family information
Amber wrapped up her first semester of school and did great. It’s amazing how different college is when you are older! Grant has learned so much from his Spanish classes at USCL. He has break for Christmas, but will jump back into it in January. He has also had many opportunities to preach at different churches lately—which he loves—and it has been a blessing to us all. Asher celebrated his 4th birthday on December 12th with neighborhood friends and cupcakes. He loves a good party and had such a fun time! Evan Grace is keeping up with us all and talking our ears off!

November 2013

Hey folks!
With this beautiful Fall weather has come a beautifully busy schedule for us.
The Fall Festival was held at The Connection on October 26th. Between carnival games and trunk or treat, we loaded Countryside up on more candy than any kid should ever eat. But not only did we load up on sweets, we loaded up on prayer and fellowship, too. Many prayer requests were submitted and many new friends were made. We also offered a blood pressure check, which has allowed Amber to follow-up in many homes. God allowed us to serve somewhere between 300-400 people that afternoon. Praise Him!

We have mentioned Homework Helpers time and time again, but this is becoming a great service to our community and is growing quickly. The Hispanic community has got the word out that there is an opportunity for their children to get the help they need and they are coming steadily on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There are two cool things that God has developed from this. We are able to really minister to the hispanic moms and have grown a relationship with them. We also have had some of our own Countryside residents come to help with homework! This is huge! God doesn’t intend for us to stay here in this community forever and do all the work. We are to raise up servants and disciples out of this place who will take over and serve each other. This is a first step in that direction, and for that we are grateful!

The five churches that have partnered with us have been working hard plan our next event, a Thanksgiving Meal at Brooklyn Springs Elementary School. This will take place on Wednesday, November 27th at 6pm. We will serve ham, vegetables, and homemade pound cake. After the guests eat, we will have a program that will include worship songs from the Hispanic church, African American church, and the White church. Grant will then have a time to present the Gospel through a message. We are so excited for this! As we have gone door to door to invite our neighbors, we have had around 300 people commit to coming. Wow! That’s an awesome opportunity God is giving The Church to share His Love!

December plans include a family photo session on Saturday, December 14th and caroling, hot chocolate and a live nativity on Sunday, December 22nd. The photo session will be an opportunity for our neighbors to have a nice family photo made for Christmas. We plan to give each family a free 5×7 of their portrait. If you want to help with any of these and meet our friends here in Countryside, please contact us! We would love to see you!

Will you join us in praying for the following?
*Thanksgiving meal served at Brooklyn Springs Elementary on November 27th
*December events
*Ongoing events: Homework Helpers on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Hispanic Bible Study, Love-a-Child Program, Bus ministry, Sunday School at The Connection
*Our friend Tonya who is being attacked by Satan
*Our neighbor Troy
*Children who have moved out of Countryside that we miss dearly, RJ and Aliyah, Chan and Quay
*Protection for our family
*Our house in Rockwell to sell
*Our ventures to start a Non-Profit

Family information
God has continued to provide for us in miraculous ways. Ways we never could have dreamed of. He knows far more than we do and we place our trust in His Divine hands!
Grant received the blessing of getting one-on-one, free Spanish lessons with the Spanish Professor at USC-Lancaster! It has been amazing to see how God placed the right people in the right place to allow this to work out. He meets daily in the professor’s office and has learned so much in such a short time!
Amber and the kids are doing great. We all appreciate your prayers for our family!

Let us know how you are doing and how we can pray for you!

October 2013

Since we updated you last month, we have been privileged to see God move even more. Three more folks have joined us as Brothers and Sisters in Christ and have accepted Him into their lives–Patsy (in her 50s), Joselyn (12 years old), and Brach (23 years old). Patsy has also followed the Lord in baptism. We are amazed at the way God is changing Countryside one heart at a time!

For three weeks we took up submissions at New Hope Baptist Church to name the ministry trailer. The winner was announced on October 6th and they were given a Sunday buffet gift certificate for a local restaurant. The ministry trailer is now called “The Connection”. This name fit the mission and vision well. Our goal is to Connect Countryside to Christ.

Our normal activities are going steady. Homework Helpers is still offered twice a week, but we are praying that others will step forward to open it up other days of the week. This is a great need here. We have found that the Spanish-speaking parents, in order to help their children with their homework, have to translate the homework into Spanish using the computer first, then they are able to help them. This makes homework take so long for these parents and many work very long hours at their jobs. We praise God that we are able to offer this service to lighten the burden on these parents somewhat.

God is growing the ministry here greatly by opening up doors to relationships with other churches. In the past two weeks we have had four churches contact us about helping in the community! Our role is becoming more defined as we see these servants stepping up to serve “the least of these”. We now have a role geared more towards delegation and leadership—coordinating others who want to help with events and even steering them in directions to start new ministry activities in Countryside. For example, last week a church contacted us and wanted to send someone in to teach ESL (English as a Second Language). This is something we are able to support and encourage while allowing this church to reach into our community and pour out God’s love.

Just this past week New Hope moved a Sunday School class out to The Connection. This class now will meet here in Countryside during the Sunday School hour every week in order to invite our neighbors to walk up and join them. Join us in praying this will be a fruitful venture that will help our neighbors get plugged into a regular Bible study.

In September we held a Free Yard Sale. This was a huge success! Clothing and household items were given away to help meet the physical needs of our neighbors. We also offered a prayer table and many were prayed with that day. We continue to do follow-up and have been invited into many homes to pray with people as a result of the event.

Our October event will be a Fall Festival on October 26th. We will have hot dogs, hay rides with a Gospel presentation, face painting, carnival games, a bounce house, and Trunk-or-Treat. We look forward to seeing the ways God will work in this event as He has in the others. If any of you want to join us for this event, please contact us! We would love to see you there!

We appreciate your prayers for us. We are doing great! Our Spanish is getting better and we are ironing out our daily routines. Our lives seem to be getting into a good groove here in Countryside.

Grant has been meeting a lot with some people one-on-one and has had opportunities to counsel in some really tough situations. God is growing him and strengthening him daily, and also giving him discernment and wisdom in how to best minister to our neighbors.

Amber’s school is going strong and she is doing great so far. Her roles in being a mom and a wife, along with administrating the events in Countryside has been hard to balance, but she is relying on God’s strength, which is all-sufficient!

Asher has really started to show a servant heart by asking all his friends to eat supper with us, come to the store with us, etc. This is sometimes not the best situation, but we are happy to see him learning to love others the way Jesus wants us to.

Evan Grace has really started to show an interest in prayer lately, and we love it, too. We know they are only toddlers, but we also know that God is developing traits in them that we can recognize and will be used for His glory!

♥

September 2013

As we have now been in Lancaster, South Carolina for three months we can say that we have seen God do some pretty amazing things already. The entire months of June and July were devoted to clothing our neighborhood, Countryside, in prayer. Our family would prayer walk each morning, praying for our neighbors-both the ones we knew and the ones we didn’t. We would pray for open doors and softened hearts. We had many of you joining us on different occasions to spend time in intercession with us. It truly is a blessing to have people pull in beside us in praying for Countryside because as James 5:16 tells us, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

As always, God is faithful. We see on a daily basis that the fervent prayers have availed much. To give you a simple example, we have had numerous neighbors say, “You are the ones that walk around each morning. What are you doing?” That immediately opens the door for us to share that we are praying for them. We also have had many chances to pray with those who are outside when we prayer walk.

We also prayed for relationships to be formed with our neighbors so we could love on them. God, again, answered that prayer and has allowed us to love on our neighbors in many ways. The children tend to use our house as a hangout and it is a normal occurrence to see Grant playing baseball or soccer outside with them. Amber has been given the chance to take many women to appointments and to the grocery store. We also have a church bus from our church, New Hope Baptist that comes to pick everyone up on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, and Wednesday nights. We praise God that we usually have to drive cars as well because the bus is full.

Our Spanish learning was another prayer request we had before moving to Countryside, and the desire was only amplified when we found out that more than half of the trailer park is Hispanic. The majority of the kids that hang out at our house are Hispanic and speak English, but their parents-for the most part-only speak Spanish. This proves difficult in communicating about church and Countryside events and places a barrier to sharing the gospel. We have worked hard to learn and have a few people we are working with to help as well. We also go to a Hispanic Bible Study on Monday nights that we really enjoy.

At the end of July we held our first event at the ministry trailer which was a Backyard Bible Camp. God allowed 97 children and adults to hear the gospel that day. The next event in August was a Back to School Bash, but in the end it was rained out and ended up being a school supply distribution only. Each family that came to get a back pack full of supplies was prayed with. With the help of many from both Rockwell and Lancaster, we were able to bless 75 children with back packs.

One of the greatest things we have been allowed to witness is the salvation of four souls. Jeremy (11), Jarek (11), Isabel (11) and Itzel (14) were all saved in July. Three were saved at Hispanic Bible study and one in the living room of her home in front of her entire family. God is so good for allowing us to see Him move!

*A corporation that wishes to sponsor Countryside (more details will be shared when allowed)

Family information

Grant got back from Germany on Thursday and had a great time helping the International Mission Board team show a Jesus film to an unreached people group there. Amber has started school at Gardner-Webb University to obtain her Master’s of Science in Nursing and become a Family Nurse Practitioner. We are excited to see what God will do with this in meeting the needs of the underprivileged. Asher and Evan Grace have started preschool and have adjusted well to their new home. Asher says, “I LOVE South Carolina, Mom!”